You won’t find this Genie in a bottle. In fact, in a growing number of Edmonton homes it can be found hiding inside the kitchen cabinets ready to grant just one wish: easier access to pots, pans, canned goods, spices, cookbooks, and virtually anything else buried in those cupboards. This genie, which goes by the name ShelfGenie, provides custom cabinetry storage solutions, including glide-out shelves that are strong enough to hold items up to 100 pounds and eliminate the need to kneel down and dig through cabinetry for hard-to-reach items.

In fact, in a growing number of Edmonton homes it can be found hiding inside the kitchen cabinets ready to grant just one wish: easier access to pots, pans, canned goods, spices, cookbooks, and virtually anything else buried in those cupboards.

This genie, which goes by the name ShelfGenie, provides custom cabinetry storage solutions, including glide-out shelves that are strong enough to hold items up to 100 pounds and eliminate the need to kneel down and dig through cabinetry for hard-to-reach items. The company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, only recently became active in the greater Edmonton region.

Bathroom storage options are also available, cutting down on clutter.Supplied/-

“We are excited to introduce ShelfGenie to the local market and help clients solve the accessibility issues they are facing at home,” said Karen Tran, who along with Jennie Chen, are co-owners of ShelfGenie of Alberta. “What people are quickly realizing is that by dramatically increasing their usable cabinet space with customized glide-out shelving solutions from ShelfGenie, they are not only reducing pain and frustration by providing easy access to items, but also improving the appearance and value of their homes.”

Finding the right fit

Discovering that ShelfGenie’s creative shelving solution was available locally capped a 10-year quest for west end resident Doreen Bryson.

“It all started when friends in Ontario had this done,” said Bryson. “I doubt it was ShelfGenie, maybe it was a carpenter who did it, but it was the same idea (of glide-out shelving). When we got back home it went on the back burner until my daughter found ShelfGenie on the Internet.”

Bryson then called ShelfGenie in Atlanta, but at the time was told the franchise-based operation didn’t have anyone in Edmonton. She would also check out big-box home improvement stores and others for similar storage solutions, but kept striking out. Anything she did find came in standard sizes and weren’t a good fit for her cabinets. Determined, Bryson continued to call ShelfGenie once a year for the past few years. Earlier this year she discovered that ShelfGenie was active in Edmonton.

“I was very satisfied that finally they had a representative in the area and I could get on with it,” said Bryson, who had 11 glide-out shelves put in almost all the lower cabinets in her kitchen, including four in her pantry, and two for pots and pans. She is even considering adding more. “I just love them. It makes it easier to access everything. It’s wonderful.”

Maximizing space and convenience

ShelfGenie’s glide-out shelves and organization systems mean homeowners are starting to fall in love with their cabinets and pantries all over again, said Tran, who handles the Edmonton part of the operation while her co-owner focuses on Calgary. For the kitchen, ShelfGenie offers single- and double-height glide-out shelves and the units are customized to fit into your existing cabinets. Deeper glide-outs can also be designed to include a drawer within a drawer, where a shallow top shelf gives way to a larger storage space underneath, but all in one unit.

There are also variations for under the sink and around drain pipes that include side risers to increase the amount of usable storage space. There are spice racks, and units specially made to store cookbooks and magazines. Blind corner cabinets — the L-shaped ones that can be extremely hard to reach into — can be customized with pull-out gliders so that everything is accessible (by pulling the front one forward and the corner one sideways) so you no longer have to contort yourself to reach rarely used items.

Pat Vos would have considered a blind corner ShelfGenie option, but the kitchen cabinets in her recently built south Edmonton condominium don’t allow for it, even though it appears that there should be room. Instead, she focused on making the existing kitchen cabinet storage space more productive and more accessible.

“It’s made a huge difference for me,” said Vos. “I don’t have to get down on my hands and knees to be reaching into the back (of the cupboards). It just makes working in the kitchen so much easier.”

Extending beyond the kitchen

Vos had glide-out shelves installed in the cabinetry in her kitchen island, as well as in the cabinet by the fridge. Storage containers no longer flop out of the cupboards, spices and baking goods are easier for her to keep tabs on, and she no longer has to move things to find what she is looking for.

“I always had it in my head that somebody should be able to install (pull-out) drawers and that I should be able to keep my existing cupboard doors, but I never pursued it to find out,” added Vos, who came upon an ad in the Edmonton Journal indicating that ShelfGenie would be at the Edmonton Home + Garden Show earlier this year, and has since found it to be a solid product.

But while ShelfGenie does carry a wide product line for kitchen solutions, Tran said people should also think outside the box.

“People just think of the kitchen, but we can do it if you have it,” said Tran, referring to bathroom storage, offices and more, including customizing armoires and entertainment units.” We give you the option of shelving that you never had before.”

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